In recent years, because of widespread use of the magnetic cards as credit cards, payments for purchases are often made by credit cards. More specifically, when a credit card is inserted into a credit card insertion slot of a credit card identification terminal in each store, the card data on the credit card of the customer is read by a card reader of the credit card identification terminal. Then, the owner of the credit card enters the pin number into the credit card identification terminal to make inquiry, personal identification and payment.
In such a credit card identification terminal, the card reader uses a magnetic head B as shown in FIG. 10 to read card data. The magnetic head B has two magnetic cores 23 made of a magnetic material and arranged opposite each other in a sealed case 22 with their first ends apart to form a gap 26, and the ends of the magnetic cores 23 are located in an opening formed through the magnetic recording medium sliding surface of the sealed case 22. To read the data on a credit card, the credit card is slid over the ends of the magnetic cores 23.
The other ends of the magnetic cores 23 are inserted in both sides of a bobbin 25 in the sealed case 22 and fixedly supported in the sealed case 22 by holders 24. In addition, the hollow space in the sealed case 22 is filled with an epoxy resin, and terminal pins 27 connected to the wire wound on the bobbin 25 protrude as external connection terminals from the bottom of the sealed case 22. Usually, first ends of a signal conductor are connected to the two terminal pins 27, and the signal conductor is connected to a read-write control circuit. A magnetic head having the same configuration as described above is described in JP-A-2002-157702.
In recent years, frequent occurrence of crimes in which a malicious third person illegally acquires personal information as card data on credit cards from credit card identification terminals in business locations where credit cards are used and conducts a commercial transaction or e-commerce via the Internet with a forged credit card including the acquired card data to impose the debit obligation on the legal credit card owner has become a social issue.